Monday, March 1, 2010

This week's Washington Post article on Herb Magee; AP Top 25 ballot

When Herb Magee first walked onto the campus of Philadelphia Textile University as a 5-foot-9, 150-pound, jump-shooting freshman, Dwight D. Eisenhower was president of the United States. There have been 10 presidents since Eisenhower and Philadelphia Textile is now Philadelphia University. The basketball landscape has changed in ways almost impossible to describe.

Back in the fall of 1959 when Magee was a freshman, his nickname was "the King." More than 50 years later, after scoring 2,275 points as a player and turning down a chance to go to training camp with the Boston Celtics in 1963 as a seventh-round draft choice, Magee is still at Division II Philadelphia U. Tuesday night, he won his 903rd game as a college coach, one more than Bob Knight, setting off a wild celebration on the tiny campus tucked into the East Falls section of Northwest Philadelphia.

"Once the King always the King, " said Temple Coach Fran Dunphy, one of many Philly hoops luminaries who showed up for Magee's latest coronation. With the victory, Magee set a new record for wins in men's NCAA-sanctioned basketball games. Don Meyer, the coach at Northern State in South Dakota, had 923, entering Saturday night's game, but many of those victories were at an NAIA college.

Maybe a little love for the Xavier Musketeers. Overlooked every season, but very consistent squad peaking at the right time. Plus most losses have come to teams that were/are ranked. Keep up the great blog!

Just want to say thanks for devoting the column to Coach Magee's record-setting win. I was an assistant coach a few years back at one of his fellow conference schools and can tell you that there is not a classier act in the college basketball world.

As an example, after my first year of coaching (and at my request), I was able to meet with Coach Magee for a day to pick his brain on all things basketball. I left with a ton of notes, a new-found friend, and lots of great advice. Keep in mind, I got all this information even though I would still be sitting on the opponent's bench the next season.

I still coach (high school in the Midwest now) and still reference back to notes from that one day visit on the art of shooting (or "training a shooter" as Coach Magee would put it).